Project description:The availability of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in food items influences the fitness of organisms at higher trophic levels. Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids are essential compounds that cannot be synthesised de novo in these animals. Especially the omega 3 PUFA eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is an important molecule, as it is a limiting nutritional component for growth and reproduction in numerous marine and freshwater zooplankton species. With our transcriptomic study in Daphnia magna we address the transcriptomic network behind the metabolism and conversion that is connected to physiological EPA-limitation under temperature stress (20°C vs. 15°C).
